Before the match, each coach selects 22 players in position, and the weather for the game is decided. The match is split into four quarters, so that before each quarter the coach performs actions, then watches the match play out based in part on his selection and tactics. The coach names his 18 players on the ground for the quarter and his three bench players plus a substitute, then sets the tactics for each of the seven lines, which are comprised of three players.

Each quarter contains plays, the total number of which is based on the amount of time each play takes. The quarter starts with the ruck contest at the centre bounce and proceeds with a chain of plays which result in goals which lead to another centre bounce, points which lead to rebounds, turnovers which lead to rebounds or spreads, or stoppages which result in ruck duels.

Each play is resolved by contests between random pairs of players in each line. Many factors go into deciding who wins each play: the type of play, the statistics of the players involved, player skills which add bonuses or penalties to rolls, bonuses or penalties conferred by other players in a line, and the weather conditions. The plays are resolved by rolling four virtual six-sided dice (known as 4d6).

TEAM POSITIONS

As in a real Australian football game, each player is selected for a match by the coach in one of 22 positions. Apart from the substitute, each of the 21 onfield players is part of a line.

Line

Position

Full name

Opponent

Full back

LBP

left back pocket

RFP

FB

full back

FF

RBP

right back pocket

LFP

Half back

LBF

right half forward flank

RFF

CHB

centre half back

CHF

RBF

left half forward flank

LFF

Centre

LW

left wing

RW

C

centre

C

RW

right wing

LW

Half forward

LFF

left half forward flank

RBF

CHF

centre half forward

CHB

RFF

right half forward flank

LBF

Full forward

LFP

right forward pocket

RBP

FF

full forward

FB

RFP

right forward pocket

LBP

Followers

RK1

first ruck

RK1

RRV

ruck-rover

RRV

ROV

rover

ROV

Interchange

RK2

second ruck

RK2

UT1

first utility

UT1

UT2

second utility

UT2

The substitute (SUB) doesn't play until substituted one time only for one of the other 21 players, who then can not play for the rest of a match. Otherwise, each player is allowed to play anywhere, although of course most players' attribute and skill sets are specialised for one or two positions at most. During a match, players can be moved around to suit their skills and try to get the best matchups with particularly important opponents.

PLAYER ATTRIBUTES, SKILLS AND TRAITS

Strength (ST), Agility (AG), Dash (DA), Quickness (QK), Kicking (KI) and Endurance (EN) are the attributes of a player. They affect various specific opposed rolls in the game, apart from Endurance which affects all rolls. Attributes range from 1 to 11, where 1 is a very poor attribute, 10 is elite and 11 is reserved for the elite of the game. Attributes below 5 give penalties to opposed rolls, whereas attributes above 7 gives bonuses. (Note: Quickness refers to acceleration from a standing start, whereas Dash refers to top speed once a player is off and running.) Once a player has been drafted, attributes can only be modified during preseason training.

Skills are also added to specific opposed rolls in the game, although some of them only apply to one type of roll. Skills are less important than attributes, though still a vital determinant. Skills can be positive or negative - a negative skill is called a Weakness - and have a bonus attached to them, ranging typically from 1 to 5, although 6 is possible for the elite players. Skills can be improved in preseason training and through experience in games.

Skill

Weakness

Ruck

Concede

Tap

Flub

Extract

Slow

Vision

Blind

Lace Out

Wasteful

Baulk

Stiff

Position

Loose

Chase

Lazy

Tackle

Release

Pinpoint

Bomb

Spring

Immobile

Hands

Butterfingers

Spoil

Flail

Crumb

Fumble

Snap

Spray

Technique

Flawed

Traits are similar to skills in that they affect certain opposed rolls, though they can not be improved through training or experience as they describe physical or mental characteristics. Traits can have positive or negative effects. Primary among these is the Tall/Small trait, which affects ruck contests among other events, and has its own bonus which ranges all the way up to 7.

(More on traits in a later rules update.)

PLAYS AND EVENTS

In these rules, a play means a chain of events which lead to a score and/or a stoppage. Plays can be comprised of the following events, which are resolved with a pair of opposed dice rolls:

- Ruck contest mostly between a ruckman of either side, at a stoppage (ST to win the tap + AG to determine direction)- Pack contest mostly between midfielders after a ruck duel in midfield (ST to win the ball + QK to clear it without being tackled)- Spread which happens after a pack contest or rebound, and mostly involves midfielders running to receive and then deliver into the forward line with either a pass or snap for goal (DA to win the ball + KI to deliver the pass)- Lead which happens when a spread results in a pass to a leading forward (QK to get to the ball first + AG to win the marking contest)- Crumbing contest mostly between a forward and back which happens after a pack contest in either forward line results in a win to the attacking team, or after a turnover in attack (QK to get to the ball + AG to get the shot away)- Snap - a shot for goal - which happens after a crumbing contest results in the forward winning the ball, or a lead results in the forward winning the ball after failing to mark, or after an event in midfield in which the player with the ball runs forward and shoots (KI)- Set shot - a shot for goal - which happens after a lead or a marking contest results in a mark to the forward (KI)- Rebound which happens after a turnover in defence, and involves a pass typically by a back to a midfielder or other backman which leads to a spread, ruck contest or spread to the other team (QK to get free into space + KI to deliver the pass)- Turnover which happens after a turnover in midfield, and involves a pass typically by a midfielder to another midfielder or back which leads to a spread, ruck contest or spread to the other team (QK to get free into space + KI to deliver the pass)

The following table lists the skills and traits which are related to specific attribute rolls as part of events. The "Attack skill" is the one that the attacking player adds to his attribute bonus and the "Defend skill" is the one that the defending player adds. The "Trump skill" is the one that is used only if the roll results in a stalemate, to prevent a stoppage. The "Team bonus" is added to the next skill check in the chain of events if the attacking team is successful.

Event

Play

Check

Attack skill

Defend skill

Trump skill

Trump skill

Team Bonus

Ruck

Stoppage

ST

Tall

Tall

Spring

---

Tap

Stoppage

AG

Tap

Spoil

Hands

Vision

Extract

Pack

ST

Extract

Tag

Shepherd

---

Clear

Pack

QK

Baulk

Tackle

Pressure

Vision

Sprint

Spread*

DA

Position

Chase

Vision

---

Pass

Spread*

KI

Pinpoint

---

---

Lace Out

Jump

Lead

QK

Position

Wrestle

Spring

---

Mark

Lead

AG

Hands

Spoil

Wrestle

---

Snaffle

Crumb

QK

Crumb

Chase

Shepherd

---

Evade

Crumb

AG

Baulk

Tackle

Small

---

* Note: the sprint and pass events also apply for rebound and turnover plays, with the same attribute and skill checks, though they have different ticket lists (more on that below).

There are three scoring-related events which occur after successful rolls in the above events.

- Snap which happens after a successful crumb event or a big success in certain other events in attack, midfield or defence (KI with a +1 modifier plus Snap/Spray skill)- Set Shot which happens after a successful lead event or a big success in certain other events in attack, midfield or defence (KI with a +3 modifier plus Technique/Flawed skill)- Goal which happens after a a very big success in most events (no roll, automatic goal)

There is no team bonus applied to the second event in a play involving a single player, plus there is no bonus added to scoring shots.

EVENT ELIGIBILITY AND THE TICKET SYSTEM

To determine which pair of players are chosen to contest each event, the game uses a system of "tickets", which simulates pulling raffle tickets out of a hat. Players in more important positions start with the most tickets, plus more tickets accrue to the players with higher attributes and skills relevant to the event.

The starting allocations for tickets per event for attacking players are:

The direct opponent of the attacker (as per the team positions table above) gets an extra 8 tickets in addition.

OPPOSED EVENT ROLLS

The set of four six-sided dice used for the resolution of opposed rolls produces a probability curve like so:

Total

Combos

This result

This total or higher

4

1

0.08%

100.00%

5

4

0.31%

99.93%

6

10

0.77%

99.62%

7

20

1.54%

98.85%

8

35

2.70%

97.30%

9

56

4.32%

94.60%

10

80

6.17%

90.28%

11

104

8.02%

84.11%

12

125

9.65%

76.08%

13

140

10.80%

66.44%

14

146

11.27%

55.64%

15

140

10.80%

44.37%

16

125

9.65%

33.57%

17

104

8.02%

23.92%

18

80

6.17%

15.90%

19

56

4.32%

9.73%

20

35

2.70%

5.40%

21

20

1.54%

2.70%

22

10

0.77%

1.16%

23

4

0.31%

0.39%

24

1

0.08%

0.08%

This creates a range of 21 possible results in a bell curve distribution of probabilities. These 21 results are then condensed into only eight outcomes, although each of the 21 possible totals has a different combination of outcome and bonus.

Outcome

Bonus

Total

Combos

This result

This total or higher

Description

Loss+bypass

0

4-6

15

1.16%

100.00%

Defender takes possession and bypasses the next check

Loss

2 to 0

7-9

111

8.56%

98.84%

Defender takes possession

Stalemate

-2*

10-12

209

23.84%

90.28%

New ruck event unless trump skill comparison is successful*

Win

-2 to 2

13-17

655

50.55%

66.43%

Attacker keeps possession

Bypass

0

18

80

6.17%

15.89%

Attacker keeps possession and bypasses the next check

Double bypass

0 to 1

19-20

91

7.02%

9.72%

Attacker keeps possession and bypasses the next two checks

Triple bypass

0 to 1

21-23

34

2.62%

2.70%

Attacker keeps possession and bypasses the next three checks

Quad bypass

0

24

1

0.08%

0.08%

Attacker keeps possession and bypasses the next four checks

This method is used for all events, including snaps and set shots, plus weather, knock and injury rolls.

Note: After the trump skills are compared during a stalemate outcome and there's still a stalemate, for the first attribute check of an event is treated as a win but with a -2 penalty to the next check. Otherwise it results in a new ruck event.

Here are the rules for which event leads to which, in short:

- A successful chain from a stoppage in defence is ruck => pack => rebound => spread => lead => set shot.- A successful chain from a stoppage in midfield is ruck => pack => spread => lead => set shot.- A successful chain from a stoppage in attack is ruck => pack => crumb => snap.- Rebounds out of defence happen after an unsuccessful lead or crumb by the opposition, or a successful ruck or pack event in defence.- Unsuccessful spreads in midfield can lead to turnovers, which also happen in midfield and can result in further turnover events.- The crumb => snap combo can also happen after an unsuccessful rebound by the opposition.- Snaps can also happen on multi-bypass results from various events in attack or midfield.- A roll of 24 or more (after bonus) in most events results in an automatic goal without having to roll for a snap or set shot.

For instance, let's say the Carringbush ruckman has just tapped down to Swan in midfield, who is opposed by Elwood's Jones and has won the extract event to get the ball. Now we have the clear event as part of the pack play, as Swan tries to get the ball to his outside midfielders or forwards. 4d6 is rolled, Swan adds his QK attribute and Extract skill bonus, Jones subtracts his QK attribute and Tag skill bonus.

Total

Chance

Result

4-

0.08%

Swan is tackled and cops an injury (on a natural 4) or a knock, turnover to Elwood, bypass sprint and go to pass

5

0.31%

Swan is tackled and cops a knock, turnover to Elwood, go to sprint

6

0.77%

Swan concedes a free and Jones gets the kick, turnover to Elwood, go to sprint

Swan runs from the pack, bypass spread and go to snap with +1 to KI check

23

0.31%

Jones cops a knock, Swan runs from the pack, bypass spread/lead and go to set shot

24+

0.08%

Jones cops an injury (on a natural 24) or a knock, Swan runs from the pack and snaps himself... it sails through for a goal from long range!

The way the probabilities work, if Swan and Jones cancel each other out with their additions to the roll, there's about a 10% chance of a pro-Jones result, 24% of a stalemate and 66% of a pro-Swan result. If the bonuses stack to a +2 in Jones' favour, the odds shift to 24% pro-Jones, 32% stalemate and 44% pro-Swan. If Swan gets +2, it moves to 2.5% pro-Jones, 13% stalemate and 85% pro-Swan. The table is intentionally slanted towards results favouring the player with the ball, to prevent the game turning into a kick-to-kick with not enough scoring.

A natural roll of 4 (four ones) will always result in the most negative result and a roll of 24 (four sixes) will always result in the most positive result for the player with the ball, regardless of bonuses. Thus an injury will always have a fixed chance of 1 in 1296 for each player per event, though the chance of a knock is dependent on bonuses. This will mean, based on roughly 500 events per game, that there will be on average one injury every two games.

FATIGUE, BENCHING, KNOCKS, INJURY AND JUNKTIME

The endurance attribute affects the game through the fatigue system. Each player starts the game on 0% fatigue, but participating in events raises it, plus getting a knock as part of an event raises it even more. The amount of fatigue from being the attacker in an event is 0-4%. The amount of fatigue from being the defender in an event is 0-2%.

Participating in junktime adds a flat 1% to fatigue. Junktime happens between certain events to simulate a chain of uncontested possessions, and its participants are completely randomised based on the ticket system (without attribute and skill bonuses).

Knocks also lower fatigue. When a knock to a player happens as part of an event, 4d6 are rolled with a +3 bonus, producing the following set of possibilities.

Outcome

Total

Fatigue

Loss+bypass

4

32-35

Loss

5-6

28-31

Stalemate

7-9

24-27

Win

10-14

20-23

Bypass

15

16-19

Double bypass

16-17

12-15

Triple bypass

18-19

8-11

Quad bypass

20-23

4-7

Goal

24

1-3

Recovering fatigue happens in between quarters. Each player has a single six-sided dice rolled for them, to which the bonus from their Endurance attribute is added (-1 for every integer below 5, +1 for every integer above 7). If the result is above 4, the player recovers either 10% (after the first and third quarters) or 20% (after the second quarter).

Each 10% of fatigue lowers each of the other five main attributes by 1 during the match. Once a player's fatigue rises above 90%, that player benches himself and can no longer participate in play until he rests and recovers. Note that this can mean that fatigue can sometimes go over 100%.

When a player sustains an injury as part of an event, he can not play for the rest of the game, and may miss subsequent games. 4d6 is rolled with a +3 bonus to determine the severity of the injury.

Outcome

Total

Injury

Loss+bypass

4

Ruptured ACL, out for the rest of the team's current season

Loss

5-6

Broken bone, out for 5-6 matches

Stalemate

7-9

Torn hamstring, out for 2-3 matches

Win

10-14

Pulled muscle, out for 1-2 matches

Bypass

15

Concussion, out for 0-1 matches

Double bypass

16-17

Sprained ankle, out for 0-1 matches

Triple bypass

18-19

Soreness, out for 0-1 matches

Quad bypass

20-23

Bruising, back for next match

Goal

24

KOed, back for next match

For injuries with a range of matches missed, the player has a 50% chance to recover to be fit for the last match of the range. Additionally, when a player finishes a match with more than 50% fatigue and has picked up a knock during the match, the player has a chance to miss the subsequent game with soreness, with the chance equating to the fatigue percentage over 50%. Thus a player who gets a knock and finishes on 78% fatigue would have a 28% chance to miss the next match.

LINE TACTICS

Each of the seven lines of three players can have tactics dictated to them which emphasise particular parts of the game over others. Each line's chosen tactics are then matched up with the opposing line from the other team (FB/FF, HB/HF, C/C, 1R/1R, 2R/2R) in a rock-paper-scissors method, to produce either a stalemate or bonuses to rolls for either side when the ball is in their area.

The bonuses and penalties only apply to the three players in each line.

WEATHER

Weather affects every game, except those held at Docklands. There are three components of the weather: temperature, rain and wind. Before the start of the match, the conditions for each of these components is set separately to one of nine random settings.

The KI effects of wind only affect one side each quarter according to the "direction" of the breeze, which swings to the opposite side every quarter. The other effects apply to both teams.

After every quarter, the dials are twisted to either stay the same, or move one or two settings in either direction.

Movement

Chance

Down 2

1.93%

Down 1

7.79%

Unchanged

80.56%

Up 1

7.79%

Up 2

1.93%

HOME GROUNDS

When you start your team, you will be able to pick your home ground. This will deliver bonuses and penalties for games where you are designated the home team. Of course, this means that if you are the away team, you will also experience the bonuses and penalties of the ground of the home team. There will also be a home ground advantage (HGA) which will deliver an extra bonus to the home team or penalty to the away team.

Note: as well as these individual bonuses, home sides get a +1 to both Snap (accuracy from snap) and Technique (accuracy from set shot) skills.

From the team's creation, every 22 matches that it plays constitutes a season. After the 22 matches there is a knockout finals series, where up to three games can be played to gain bonuses for the purposes of the next season.

Before the first season you play, you have to construct your initial team from a series of drafts of different kinds of players. Like expansion teams have done in the big leagues, you get access to a number of special drafts to build your team from scratch before season 1. In the following table of drafts, the blue drafts happen only in the first preseason. The green draft happens halfway through the season, after round 11.

Draft

Picks

Between

Seasons

Pool

Player quality

Preliminary

6

16

1

120

Best to poor

Zone

12

0

0

40

Average to poor

Mature-Age

5

3

3 to 5

20

Average

Uncontracted

8

1

6 to 10

20

Best

National

6

16

0

120

Best to poor

Rookie

3

5

0

30

Very poor to worst

Pre-season

2

2

3 to 7

30

Poor to very poor

Midseason

1

4

5 to 9

20

Worst

You get a certain number of picks starting with the first pick of the full available player list, with another set number of randomised picks made between yours to represent other teams in the draft, with the number of picks made dependent on which type of draft it is. For some you have the draft all to yourself, for others you get up to 16 other picks made between yours. The other picks are not always made for the best available, so you may decide to bypass someone you'd like to have only to find he's still available at your next pick because he's been passed over... but don't rely on it!

So it can be seen that you will start your first season with eight very good older players, a handful of mid-aged players and a lot of youngsters amid an initial list size of 42 players. Once you get your team up and running, you will be able to build a more balanced, mature squad that challenges every season for premiership glory.

After all drafts bar the first preseason one, the coach must choose players on the team roster to drop to make way for the new draftees. You must drop at least three players before every draft, and you will be allocated a number of picks to bring your squad back to a regular season list size of 40 players. Note: you will not be able to drop players who have played only one season after the first season, implying that every drafted player gets a "contract" of at least two seasons in duration.

When the preseason drafts have been completed, you are taken to the preseason screen, where you can press a button to run your preseason. This is the only part of the game where your players improve their height and weight, which affects the Tall/Small trait and the strength (ST) stat respectively, as they hit the weights room trying to build up muscle and experience natural growth. Players can gain height or weight based on 4d6 rolls.

The height roll is made for players in seasons 1 through 4 to see if they have gained height in the offseason. The ranges for growth are: 0-3cm for a player in season 1, 0-3cm for season 2, 0-2cm for season 3, and 0-1cm for season 4. Height rolls are weighted based on position/s and current height, with smaller players more likely to gain height. Also, a player will not grow beyond 211cm.

Height impacts on the game in the Tall/Small trait, which is determined as follows: 167cm or less, Small +5; 168-170cm, Small +4; 171-173cm, Small +3; 174-176cm, Small +2; 177-179cm, Small +1; 191-193cm, Tall +1; 194-196cm, Tall +2; 197-199cm, Tall +3; 200-202cm, Tall +4; 203-205cm, Tall +5; 206-208cm, Tall +6; 209cm or more, Tall +7. Height also determines how much weight a player can gain in preseason training, as a player can not gain more kgs than his height in cm minus 95. This dictates the level of the ST attribute.

The bonus from the strength & conditioning coach is applied to the weight roll. The 4d6 roll results in a possible increase in kg: 0 kg from a roll of 4-6; 1 from 7-9; 2 from 10-12; 3 from 13-17; 4 from 18-20; 5 from 21+. This then leads to an increase in the ST attribute if the player's weight crosses into the next 5kg weight band. The formula for ST is the player's weight in kg divided by 5 minus 11, with any fractions disregarded. Thus, for example, a player gaining 3kg to go from 84 to 87 in weight would also increase in ST from 5 to 6.

The bonus from the development coach is added to an age bonus/penalty, which is equivalent to 5 minus the player's season. The 4d6 potential roll results in an awarding of 0-6 points of Potential. The results are: 0 Potential from a roll of 4-9; 1 from 13-17; 2 from 13-17; 3 from 18; 4 from 19-20; 5 from 21-23; 6 from 24+. Potential can then be used to upgrade attributes and skills.

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT

POTENTIAL AND MEDALS

Attribute upgrades cost one point of Potential per attribute point up to 4, then 2 Potential to upgrade to level 5 through 7, 3 Potential to reach an attribute level of 8, and 4 Potential to reach an attribute level of 9. You can not upgrade the ST attribute using Potential, as it is affected only by the preseason weight roll. It is possible to reach an attribute level as high as 11, but only through other means than using Potential.

Skill upgrades cost one point of Potential per skill point up to +1, then 2 Potential to reach a skill level of +2, and so on up to 6 Potential to reach a skill level of +5. It is possible to reach a skill level as high as +6, but only through other means than using Potential.

Obviously, since the game is all about developing players, Potential points are one of the most valuable commodities! Earning Potential points can happen in preseason, and also happens in matches when a player achieves certain goals within the match.

The easiest of these goals to reach is the "star", which is a (partially) randomised award which earns the player one Potential point to upgrade his stats or skills... but only if it's awarded to a player on the team whose coach started the match. In other words, if someone else plays your team in a match and one of your players gets the star in that game, the player doesn't get the Potential point. You have to be the coach playing the match to earn it. This will mean that sometimes you don't get that extra Potential point. The rules for getting the star are based on the ticket mechanic. Each player gets a number of tickets equal to his DT score, plus forwards and backs get 40 more, and rucks get 20 more to ameliorate the fact that midfielders are stat accumulators. Players on the winning team also get a 100 ticket bonus. This means that on average, players on the winning team have better than a 2/1 shot to get the star, and your better players are more likely to get stars.

The more common way your players will earn Potential points is through earning medals, which are awarded for reaching a certain number in certain statistics, plus various other in-game achievements. Players in their first or second season get a Potential point for the first award in each statistical category. All players are eligible for a Potential point every time they hit a milestone of a certain amount of medals in that category. The statistical categories that qualify a player for medals are: a "bag" of goals, DT points, hit outs, spoils, marks, contested balls and tackles.

Category

Description

Milestone

Winning

Play in a winning match

50

Bag of 5

Kick five goals in a match

50

Bag of 6

Boot six goals in a match

25

Bag of 7

Jag seven goals in a match

20

Bag of 8

Score eight goals in a match

10

Bag of 9

Rack up nine goals in a match

5

Bag of 10

Slam on ten goals in a match

2

Bag of 11

Enjoy eleven goals in a match

1

100 DT

Score a DT ton in a match

50

120 DT

Rack up 120 DT points in a match

25

130 DT

Register 130 DT points in a match

20

140 DT

Accumulate 140 DT points in a match

10

150 DT

Compile 150 DT points in a match

5

20 hit outs

Win 20 hit outs in a match

50

25 hit outs

Earn 25 hit outs in a match

25

30 hit outs

Register 30 hit outs in a match

20

40 hit outs

Dominate with 40 hit outs in a match

10

2 spoils

Win two spoils in a match

25

4 spoils

Register four spoils in a match

20

6 spoils

Earn six spoils in a match

10

8 spoils

Rack up eight spoils in a match

5

10 spoils

Accumulate ten spoils in a match

1

6 marks

Take six marks in a match

50

8 marks

Register eight marks in a match

25

10 marks

Earn ten marks in a match

20

12 marks

Rack up twelve marks in a match

10

15 marks

Accumulate fifteen marks in a match

5

8 contested balls

Win eight contested possessions in a match

50

10 contested balls

Register ten contested possessions in a match

25

12 contested balls

Earn twelve contested possessions in a match

20

15 contested balls

Rack up fifteen contested possessions in a match

10

20 contested balls

Accumulate twenty contested possessions in a match

5

6 tackles

Apply six tackles in a match

50

8 tackles

Register eight tackles in a match

25

10 tackles

Earn ten tackles in a match

20

12 tackles

Rack up twelve tackles in a match

10

15 tackles

Accumulate fifteen tackles in a match

5

It is important to note that medals stack in a single match, e.g. if a player kicks seven goals then he qualifies for a medal for the Bag of 5, Bag of 6 and Bag of 7 categories.

TEAM TROPHIES

A similar system to the medals is used for team trophies based on team totals in statistical categories, which give awards of up to +500 fans for the first time the trophy is earned by the team in each category, plus again when milestones are hit. The number of fans awarded for a team trophy is dependent on the amount of fans a team already has, starting at +500 up to 30,000 fans, with a limit of +100 fans if the team fan total is over 60,000. Note: in the below list, a milestone number of 0 indicates that an award is only given for the first time this achievement is reached.

Category

Description

Milestone

Win the match

Come out victorious in a single match

50

Win by 1 point

Win by a single point!

10

Win by 30 points

Win by five goals or more

25

Win by 60 points

Win by ten goals or more

20

Win by 100 points

Win by a ton or more

10

Score 15 goals

Kick fifteen goals or more

50

Score 20 goals

Rack up twenty goals or more

25

Score 25 goals

Pile on twenty-five goals or more

20

Score 30 goals

Slam in thirty goals or more

10

Bag 5 goals

Have a single player kick five goals

50

Bag 6 goals

Have a single player boot six goals

25

Bag 7 goals

Have a single player jag seven goals

20

Bag 8 goals

Have a single player score eight goals

10

Bag 5+ straight

Have a single player kick five or more goals without a behind

10

Suffer an injury

Have at least one of your players injured

10

Suffer a LTI

Have at least one of your players long-term-injured

1

Earn the star

Have one of your players earn the MVP star

20

4 DT tons

Have four players score 100+ in DT points

50

6 DT tons

Have six players score 100+ in DT points

25

8 DT tons

Have eight players score 100+ in DT points

20

10 DT tons

Have ten players score 100+ in DT points

10

30 hit-outs

Total thirty hit-outs in a match

50

40 hit-outs

Win forty hit-outs in a match

25

50 hit-outs

Earn fifty hit-outs in a match

20

60 hit-outs

Rack up sixty hit-outs in a match

10

50-gamer

Have a player reach 50 matches

20

100-gamer

Have a player play 100 matches

10

150-gamer

Have a player suit up for 150 matches

5

200-gamer

Have a player run out for 200 matches

1

250-gamer

Have a player make it to 250 matches

1

300-gamer

Have a player manage 300 matches

1

I've been everywhere

Play a match at every ground

0

I've won everywhere

Win a match at every ground

0

6 spoils

Earn six spoils in a match

50

8 spoils

Register eight spoils in a match

25

10 spoils

Win ten spoils in a match

20

12 spoils

Rack up twelve spoils in a match

10

Win the contest

Win the contested possession count

50

Win the contest by 20

Win the contested possession count by twenty or more

25

Win the contest by 40

Win the contested possession count by forty or more

20

Win the contest by 60

Win the contested possession count by sixty or more

10

SEASONS AND FINALS

From the team's creation, every 22 matches that it plays constitutes a season of 22 rounds. Each match won by the team earns four premiership points with each draw earning two points. If the teams gets a better than 50% record, i.e. 44 points (which could be 10 wins and two draws, etc), then it qualifies for finals. The finals are all in a knock-out format, where up to three games can be played to gain bonuses for the purposes of the next season. Winning all three games earns you team a flag, which is one of the main aims of the sport!

The finals opponents are dependent on the team's record in the regular home & away season of 22 games. The more premiership points the team accumulates, the easier its opponents will be in finals! The finalist teams are listed below. Check out the attributes and skills on their star players, it's going to be a difficult task to beat them!

In Mr Football, you are the head coach of your football club. In the old days, that was all you needed. Phonse Kyne would bark at the lads, John Wren would pay the bootstudders a shilling, and off the team would go! Now a head coach can't walk into his office without passing a dozen or more desk jockeys, film studiers, fitness gurus, sports science brainiacs... and that's without mentioning about the crowded training track with all the experts poking their noses in.

Assistant coaches are just as much of a job for the coach to coach as the players are. It is your job to hire and fire your assistants, each of which has a special role in the club to improve a certain aspect of your players' performance... but if you can't afford a good one, your players will suffer! Assistants are given a plus/minus rating, with an average coach being +0, the poorest amateur rated at -3 and the best reaching +3 or maybe even higher. The ten assistants are as follows.

Recruitment: affects the quality of the pool of players considered in the draft.Development: modifies the Potential roll during preseason.Strength & conditioning: modifies the ST roll during preseason, plus sets the upper limit to attribute improvements.Doctor: modifies the chance of recovery from injury and soreness during training between games.Physio: modifies the fatigue recovery roll at breaks during matchesSeconds: enables Potential points to be either added at training between games to player/s who didn't play the main match, or removed from any player.Forward: sets the upper limit to forward skill improvements, plus sets a maximum skill level in preseason beyond which a skill drops.Back: sets the upper limit to back skill improvements, plus sets a maximum skill level in preseason beyond which a skill drops.Midfield: sets the upper limit to midfield skill improvements, plus sets a maximum skill level in preseason beyond which a skill drops.Ruck: sets the upper limit to ruck skill improvements, plus sets a maximum skill level in preseason beyond which a skill drops.

Assistants are vital to building your team up to become premiership quality, so it is very important to focus your attention on how to improve the ratings on your assistants. How do you improve your assistants? In a football club, fans pay money to the club for memberships, which then goes to pay for things like hiring assistants. So it is in Mr Football. Now we come to the fan economy.

Every coach of a football club knows that the players and other people inside the club are not the only people who need to be kept happy. Fans are one of your most important constituencies - cross them and you will be doomed! Managing the expectations and moods of the public is a vital part of being a successful modern coach. Mr Football is no different, and you'll spend a fair bit of time getting the balance of factors right to keep the punters flowing through the turnstiles.

This is represented by your fans, which begin for each team at a level of 10,000. These are your core supporter base who will follow your boys through thick and thin, no matter what you do as coach. Your fan levels will never drop below 10,000. Additionally, for the first two seasons, the league gives you a bit of help to fund all ten coaches at a rating of +0. However, once your second season is up, you have to fund them yourself. This initial two-season "grace period" is key to preparing your new team for a tilt at the premiership as early as possible.

Each thousand fans you have allows you to improve one of your assistants' ratings above the minimum -3 by one point. This means that to fund the original set of ten assistant coaches all at +0 ratings, you need to have 30,000 fans. Yes, that implies that if you want to keep your assistants at their average ratings, you have to gain 20,000 fans in two seasons! Thankfully, fans are usually eager to see new teams, so you get a lot of bonuses in your new franchise. Managing the amount of fans you have is mostly done through picking the right opponents.

TEAM VALUE, SELECTING OPPONENTS AND TROPHIES

Once you have made your team by finishing your draft, you will be taken to the List page, which is where you can look over all your players and improve their attributes and skills through using up Potential. The next step is the Selection page, where you see a list of prospective opponents for matches. On both pages you will see your selected 22, which you can modify using the dropdown menus. Each player has a value in dollars corresponding to his attributes and skills. The base value is $4000 per attribute point and $2000 per skill point, but very high or low numbers in either of them will boost or deflate the player's price to a larger extent. This value does not imply the game has a salary cap! On the contrary, you can make a team that is as expensive as you can get - though your team value has significant implications on gameplay, good and bad.

Figuring out which opponent to play to maximise your chances of winning is often a hit and miss affair, as some teams are better suited to beat you than others! Most importantly, though, you want to minimise the effect that playing the wrong opponent will incur, which is expressed in a "fan delta", shown in the Selection table as fan ?. This number denotes how many fans you will automatically lose or gain by playing this match, before modifications for events in the match itself. The number is modified by:

- Automatic +250 for teams in their first two seasons- Sliding scale of penalties for a team which has a selected team strength (percentage of team value compared to most expensive "best 22") of less than 75%- Sliding scale of penalties for playing a team which has a value more that $250,000 lower than yours

Minimising the penalties is one of the keys to managing your fans. The main one, though, is working towards earning trophies.

DIVISIONS, LEAGUES AND TOURNAMENTS

When created, each team is specified to go into a particular division. Each division has its own rules as to when matches can be played, and how often. Divisions will have team limits per coach, as well, and teams cannot play across divisions.

Open: Compete for coach rankings in this league against any other coach with an Open division team. Finals are against robot opponents.

League: Join a private league for a competition between you and your mates, with each season culminating in a head-to-head finals series to determine who wins the flag!

Dynasty: Much like the League division in that you can't play random games, only participate in leagues, except the rules would be more restrictive in that you can only play in one league which would have one single communal draft shared between all clubs in the league, not randomised individual drafts.

Origin: This division would have a restriction that you would have to choose which state you're from, and you could only draft players from that state, and can only play teams from other states. One team per coach.

Championship: One team per coach to begin with, this division would be subdivided into a number of ranked leagues with promotion and relegation like soccer leagues overseas.

Coaches will be able to access older versions of their team as they are at the end of each season. These will be able to be entered into occasional instant knockout tournaments which are outside the normal season system and have to be completed in a short timespan, a kind of champions league to determine the best team. Further instant knockout tournaments will be scheduled to add excitement to various divisions.